by: the Common Constitutionalist
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Remember in 2013, when the New York Times wrote this? “The Senate changed its most infuriating rule and effectively ended the filibuster on executive and judicial appointments. From now on, if any senator tries to filibuster a presidential nominee, that filibuster can be stopped with a simple majority, not the 60-vote requirement of the past.”
They didn’t merely write it. They celebrated the news. “That means a return to the democratic process of giving nominees an up-or-down vote, allowing them to be either confirmed or rejected by a simple majority,” the Times added.
The NYT described the act as one of desperation by then Majority leader “Dingy” Harry Reid. The “nuclear option” as it has been dubbed, was the only way to “return to the democratic process.” Good guy Reid, “was pushed to act by the Republicans’ refusal to allow any appointments to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.”
ThinkProgress was a bit more harsh as they wrote in 2013 that, “The filibuster allows Republicans to sabotage government and then campaign on the fact that government isn’t working. This is a recipe for more sabotage.” read more